


Reminisce

by Zenith_Lux



Series: Through the Ashes [11]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Dadgil Week (Devil May Cry), Father Son Bonding, Gen, Grandpa!Vergil, Mentions of Nero's Mother, The Twins are adorable honest, Vergil's still trying his best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 02:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21439096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zenith_Lux/pseuds/Zenith_Lux
Summary: Vergil’s grandchildren may sometimes be a hassle, but he’s determined to never let them down. Sometimes, though, he wonders how life may have been if he’d been there for his own son from the beginning.
Relationships: Nero & Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Series: Through the Ashes [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1477619
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Reminisce

**Author's Note:**

> Another Dadgil week story! With a mix of Grandadgil (still counts!) Honestly hadn't expected to do another one, but here we are.
> 
> Similar to the last one, this is part of the BT extended universe. However there are only minor spoilers here. So if you're looking for some Vergil and Nero father/son fluff, here it is!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When the twins were on the way, Vergil swore that he would never babysit. Especially not on his own. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to help out, nor did he want anyone to think he was being selfish. In all honesty, Nero and Kyrie had figured out by now that Vergil would teleport to the moon and back if they asked him too. But Vergil didn’t think he was capable of babysitting well, nor did he think he should. And, at first, the twin’s unbridled energy and babbling proved him right. Both (but especially Angelica) were overwhelming, and Vergil found it surprisingly difficult to split his attention between them. 

However, Vergil did love them. Some people would say he adored them. But he was scared, a sentiment Vergil rarely felt anymore. He didn’t want to mess their lives up the way he had his own son’s. Nero had been lucky in that regard. He’d found a family with Credo and Kyrie that put him on the path that Vergil probably wouldn’t have been able to do at the time. Vergil had no doubt that he would have been a terrible father at 19. Maybe now he’d be better at it, but it didn’t matter. He’d failed his son then, so what right did he have to try and be a grandfather now?

Vergil had pondered this many times for almost two years. And he had been for them whenever asked, but never alone. 

So why he agreed to babysit today, of all days, was beyond him. 

Of course he wasn’t quite alone (never. That would be foolish). Nero would always be an arm’s length away. But everyone else was gone. The women had taken Kyrie out on a weekend retreat as she hadn’t given herself a break in months. Dante was out with his partner dealing with an unusual spike of demonic energy in another city. And, at the moment, Nero was sleeping upstairs as Vergil had demanded he do so after Kyrie mentioned his son hadn’t had a good night's rest in months.

If Vergil was going to sleep almost every day, then he was going to make his quarter-demon son do the same. 

Even so, the strange feeling in the pit of Vergil’s stomach as he watched Angelica and Kaiden play with a simple set of blocks confused him. Sometimes, he caught himself almost admiring them. Kaiden looked like a smaller version of himself; tall for his age and slim with white hair that he always asked to have slicked back because he hated it when it got in his eyes. He was calm, quiet, and had already started reading really simple books (though he often came to Vergil or Nero to do that as he didn’t quite understand all of the words yet). Angelica was the exact opposite. Her white hair was long with bangs that went right to the top of her eyes and she only let her mother put it up on special occasions (and only for a few hours at a time). She disliked anything calm. Even now she was babbling away to Kaiden about the colors of the blocks and what they were and how she knew it. 

It was Kyrie, with some help from Lady and Trish, who had taken charge of the children’s education. The twins couldn’t go to a traditional school, nor did Vergil think they ever would. By human standards, they were barely two years old. Demonically, they were a bit closer to five. Their minds would advance far faster than the average human when given the freedom to do so. Physically, they would be likely a year or two ahead of the standard. Vergil wasn’t quite certain how an eighth blooded demon would compare to a half demon like himself. Kyrie had said that Nero had always seemed a few years older than her, maturing a little after she did rather than years later as expected. 

_ Would I have homeschooled Nero? _ He thought. _ Not back then. _

Vergil sighed. He was thirty years too late for that train of thought and there was nothing he could do about it. 

“Grandpapa?” Angelica said as she grabbed at his knee. He hadn’t actually noticed her move from her spot and cursed himself for not paying attention. What if something had happened? What if she had fallen or hurt herself or…

“Grandpapa!” She said again, this time in a sing-songy voice. “Come play with us!”

Vergil raised an eyebrow. “Play… what?”

“With the blocks!” She said. “Papa does it all the time.” Her head tilted and her hair fell unceremoniously to the side. “You just have to put them in that.” She jabbed her hand out toward the box as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (it was). “But you have to say the right color or it doesn’t count.” She started giggling at that, her blue eyes glowing with pride. 

“Did you ask your brother?”

She pouted before throwing her head backwards and yelling, “Kaiden! You want to play with Grandpapa?”

Kaiden seemed to wilt at her call. “I guess so.”

Angelica’s head snapped back up so fast she almost smacked straight into Vergil’s knee. “See?” She said. “He wants to play too.”

Vergil frowned as he watched his grandson. Kaiden had been more quiet lately. Even more so than usual. “What do you want to do?” 

Kaiden’s eyes lurched to Vergil’s in surprise. Odd. Vergil knew from observing that Nero and the others always asked what Kaiden wanted to do. Angelica was the more aggressive of the two. She knew what she wanted and she often wanted it right then and there. Kaiden rarely had a say in what the two did without adult intervention, something that Vergil knew Kyrie and Nero were both trying to help with. Vergil was certain once Kaiden gained a little more courage, he’d be able to stand up to his sister more often. 

That was, afterall, what changed the relationship between Vergil and Dante when they were younger too. By the human age of four, Vergil was more than capable of keeping Dante from dragging him around like a ragdoll. 

Regardless, Kaiden seemed relieved that Vergil was talking to him instead. “I wanted to read a book.” 

Angelica groaned. “That’s all you ever want to do.” She plopped back down on the floor and crossed her arms with a huff.

Kaiden glared at her. “It’s fun.”

“It’s _ boring. _”

“Says you.”

“Uncle Dante thinks you should play with me more.”

Kaiden’s face flushed as his eyes dropped to the floor. “I like reading.” He said, his voice quiet. 

Vergil slid onto the floor between them. “Reading is perfectly find.” He said glancing between them both. Kaiden didn’t look at him, but Angelica was scowling. It wasn’t malicious - the girl rarely was - more, disappointed. Vergil made a note to “talk” to Dante about his handling of the kids another time. “You need to respect your brother’s wishes as well, Angelica.”

“I do sometimes.” She said. Then, she sighed dramatically. “Fine.” She spun in her seat, pulled her legs up to her chest, and looked at Vergil expectantly. “Why doesn’t daddy have any brothers or sisters?”

Vergil blinked, clenching his jaw before it popped right open. “What?” He said surprised he hadn’t stammered. 

“We want more uncles!” Angelica said. “Right Kai?”

He perked up at that. “Would they be like Grandmama?”

“Of course!” Angelica said. “Grandpapa already made Papa, so they’d all be like Grandmama.”

Vergil was both kind of impressed and utterly baffled at her logic. “That’s…”

“And they’ll be twins!” Angelica said. “Just like us.”

Vergil rarely panicked over anything. But in that moment, he was completely lost for words. Where was all this coming from? Had Nero and the others actually brought the idea up to her? And why? Sure Vergil hadn’t told them that was impossible but... 

“But Grandmama isn’t Papa’s Mama.” Angelica said. 

Kaiden looked horrified. His voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s not?”

That time, Vergil froze. “Who did you hear that from?” He said trying to avoid admitting to it outright. If she was just guessing he’d rather not…

“Uncle Dante.” Angelica said, pleased with herself. “He said you and Grandmama met right before we were born.”

Another reason to calmly “talk” to his brother on another day. But what did he say to that? He didn’t want to lie to her, nor was there really a reason to. But he wasn’t quite certain _ how _to handle this conversation. If she were an adult, she would (probably) be asking such a thing with a purpose in mind. But, considering she had blurted it out in the first place, Vergil didn’t think she really had any motive behind it. The worst part was the way Kaiden’s eyes were starting to waiver. 

“Grandmama isn’t my grandmama?”

When the tears started, Vergil finally admitted that he might be in a little over his head. “She is.” He said. 

“No she isn’t.” Angelica said.

The urge to glare at her was strong, but he held it at bay. “She is, Kaiden.” He repeated. “Why do you think you have feathers but no one else does?”

Kaiden’s eyes widened. “From Grandmama?”

This time, it was Angelica’s turn to sniffle. “So she’s not _ my _ Grandmama?” 

He shoved down the urge to simply disappear. “She is.” He said again, lamely. “She’s…”

Now they were both crying, but for different reasons. And Vergil could only stare between them. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say his brain had short circuited. Maybe he should have just taken them outside. There was a park that he could teleport them to that Nero recommended. Or maybe the library if he promised Angelica ice cream. But their cries only got louder, and Vergil was seconds from pulling his wife back from wherever she was to deal with it. 

Then, he heard Nero sigh. When Vergil looked back, his son was leaning against the wall leading up to the stairs, fully dressed as if he were headed out on a job. His hair, however, was a mess. Clearly he had not gotten to that part of his routine. “Are you two bothering Grandpa again?”

Angelica looked scandalized. “I just asked him a question!”

“We’ve talked about this, Angel.”

“But Dad…”

“Grandmama isn’t your Mama?” Kai said.

With another quiet sigh, Nero moved to sit on the opposite side and pulled Kaiden in. Angelica followed, sitting on his lap. For a moment, Nero was silent, and all Vergil could do was stare. The adoration on his children’s faces was… staggering. And not that he didn’t expect it - despite their jokes, the twins adored their father - but he hadn’t seen just the three of them like this. Both of the kids gravitated to Dante or Kyrie or Vergil or… anyone really. And Nero didn’t mind, as he was often out working regardless and wanted them to bond with Kyrie. But the love in all three of their eyes…

Vergil could almost imagine being in Nero’s shoes. A young Nero on Vergil’s lap, staring up at him with those same, loving, childlike eyes. Maybe he’d be wearing the t-shirt and cargo shorts that Kaiden was. Maybe he’d be more interested in vests and fancy pants like Vergil had been. His hair would probably be similar, maybe with a bit more hair gel. 

And he’d be… happy. 

Right?

_ Could I have made you happy, Nero? _

“Do you know why your Grandma is part of our family?” Nero said, arms wrapped around his kids. 

“Because she’s with Grandpapa?” Kaiden said. 

“Because Grandpapa says so!” Angelica said. 

Nero chuckled. “You’re half right.” He scratched both of their heads, earning a giggle from Angelica and a blush from Kaiden. “Your grandpa loves her very much, so that makes her a part of our family.” 

“But she’s still not your Mama.” Kai said. 

“Maybe not by blood.” Nero said. “But we don’t have to be related to her…” He hesitated, his eyes flickering to Vergil for a moment, before they returned to his children. “For her to be like a mother to me.”

Now Vergil was staring directly at him. Nero was blushing, and not meeting his gaze. “But you two are tired, aren’t ya.” 

“A little.” Kaiden said. 

“No.” Angelica said in the middle of a wide yawn. 

“Time for a nap?”

Angelica groaned, but Kai nodded enthusiastically. “I can leave you down here if you want.” Nero said to her as he gently pushed her off his lap and stood with Kaiden in his arms. “But we’ll have to put all of the blocks away, and keep the television off, and…”

“Fine!” She said. “But only if he takes me.” She poked her finger out at Vergil. 

Nero glanced at him, but Vergil had already swept her into his arms and was halfway up the stairs, Angelica giggling the entire way. 

After about ten minutes, in which Vergil was forced to do his best impression of way too many of Angelica’s stuffed animals because she demanded to know “if he did better than her Papa” (which Nero had merely scowled at) the twins were asleep. Vergil had told Nero to go back to sleep, but his son wasn’t having any of it. Instead, the two were (somewhat awkwardly) sitting on the couch, staring at a blank television. Nero looked exhausted, so Vergil wasn’t sure why he was refusing to sleep. But Vergil also wasn’t sure what conversation his son desired at the moment. So, he resolved to say nothing. At least, not until Nero clued him in on what he wanted to talk about.

“They were tired.” Nero said.

Vergil blinked. That was one of the last things he expected Nero to start a conversation with. But it was something, so he went along with it. “I hadn’t realized they had a… nap time.”

“Probably about an hour ago.” Nero said, glancing at the watch Kyrie had given him for their anniversary. “I should’ve told you, though.”

“It’s alright.”

Nero sighed. “Angelica’s been very… interested in a lot of things.” Nero said. “Hell, I don’t think that’s even the right word. She asks about _ everything. _Which is fine, except she doesn’t recognize what things she shouldn’t be asking, you know?”

“It was a fair question.” Vergil said. 

“Maybe.” Nero said, but he shook his head. “Two years old and they’re already acting like they’re at least five, if not older.” 

“As was…”

“Expected, yeah, yeah.” Nero said as he waved his hand dismissively. “It’s just crazy to see, you know?” He tilted his head back and gave Vergil a tired smile. “I’ve watched our foster kids grow up too, but the youngest was six when he joined our family, so I’ve never seen… this.”

“They’re a lot different than human children.”

Nero snorted. “Perfect for our family.” He looked up at the ceiling. “I just hope I can be… a good enough dad for them.”

“You will be.” Vergil said, his voice soft. _ Much better than I ever would have been for you. _

“You’re brooding again.”

Vergil scowled as his eyes flickered to his son. Nero laughed and shook his head. “Yes I know. It’s _ pondering. _But that’s bullshit and you know it.” Then, Nero’s smile slipped away as he leaned forward, arms on his knees, and stared directly at Vergil. “What’s bothering you?”

Vergil hesitated, but recovered as gracefully as he did most things. “It’s a good thing, I believe, that you did not have me as your role model when you were younger.” Nero blinked and Vergil didn’t miss the way his lips twitched as if they were about to say something, but couldn’t. So, Vergil continued. “I wouldn’t have been a good father for you.” 

“You had other things to deal with.”

“Unimportant things, in retrospect.”

“But they were.” Nero said. “To you, at least. We’ve talked about this before, yeah?” Vergil nodded, and his son continued. “You’ve proven to all of us that you’re different now. Though I think you get caught up in your own head sometimes. _ Pondering _,” He smirked for a brief moment. “The past- specifically-more than you should.”

“It’s a rather large part of my life.”

Nero snorted. “For now, sure. But give it another decade and it won’t be. After a century it’ll only be a small piece of who you are. And don’t get me started on how you’ll feel in a thousand years.” He tilted his head slightly. “Damn I can’t imagine a decade, much less a millennia.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It’s… difficult to imagine forgetting it.” Vergil said.

“Maybe you will, maybe you won’t.” Nero shrugged. “Maybe one day, you’ll build a brand new family yourself. Be an old, demon dad like your old man was and get that second chance you’re looking for.”

Vergil shifted uncomfortably. Nero seemed unbothered, but Vergil saw many, sad implications in that statement. Already, Nero couldn’t imagine a life where he was there if (or when) Vergil started this “new family”. Maybe he already saw Vergil and his wife as separate from himself. They were all family, sure. And they would be until Nero passed along (Vergil didn’t want to think about that). But, as unfortunate as it was, they _ would _live on without him. It was impossible to think that Vergil would never build a second (or third, or however many) life in the thousands of years he’d be alive. But for Nero to feel that way, right now, when he still had decades - if not more - left in his own life…

“I’m sorry.” Vergil said. 

Nero’s eyes snapped to him. “What?”

“I’m… sorry.” Vergil said again, slower this time. Apologizing was still painfully difficult for him, but at least now he knew when it was necessary. “For not being there for you. For not being the father you needed.” 

“Vergil…”

“I understand now that I would have been a miserable dad.” He said. “And I know the man I am now doesn’t make up for that. You don’t need a father anymore.”

“That’s not true.”

It was Vergil’s turn to be caught off guard. “You’re…”

“A grown-ass man?” Nero said. “Yeah, I am. But that doesn't make you any less my father.” He leaned back again, relaxing his shoulders. “To be honest, I think I need you now more than ever.”

“Why?”

“The world is still a mess and a half.” Nero said. “To put it lightly. And I couldn’t imagine Dante and I trying to deal with it all by ourselves. Especially not all that reaver crap that’s mucking everything up.” 

“Yamato is rather useful, yes.”

Nero scoffed. “_ You _ are ‘rather useful’, dumbass.” The sarcasm in his voice was thick enough, Vergil would need Yamato to cut it. “All these trips and demon kills and everything else you’re doing, and you still find time for this.” He waved his hand out over the room. “For us. For me. And I don’t have a clue how you do it.” 

“Yamato is…”

“Stop it.” Nero said, punching Vergil’s shoulder. It wasn’t hard enough to break anything, but he felt the bruise heal just after. “The grandkids adore you, by the way. If you haven’t managed to figure that out yet.” Vergil glared at him, but Nero just chuckled. “Especially Angelica. All she can talk about is “Grandpapa Vergil and the cool blue swords”. Dante has not been taking it well.”

“How unfortunate for Dante.” Vergil said with a prickle of amusement.

_ Grandmama isn’t Papa’s Mama. _

Vergil often wondered how the children kept him on edge. Maybe it was because of how blunt they were. Dante’s lack of filter was often annoying and vulgar, but never quite that scathing. Dante knew when to stop pushing Vergil’s buttons (even if he often pushed himself right up to that edge to see how far he could get). Angelica, and even Kaiden, to some degree, weren’t trying to anger him. And that single line - that simple, undeniable fact - had his mind wandering directions he never thought it would go. 

“Do you want me to find her?”

Nero, who had started a whole different conversation about missing the wives or something (Vergil, regrettably, hadn’t been listening), stopped short and said. “What?”

“Your mother.”

Vergil expected Nero to be surprised. Maybe excited, though he doubted it. His son had never shown any true interest in seeking out his mother. And Vergil didn’t blame him. Just thinking of the logistics behind that task was daunting. But instead Nero looked… almost sad. Contemplative, maybe, but Vergil didn’t think that was quite it. When his son spoke again, it was quiet, “Is it bad of me to say that I really don’t know?”

Vergil paused. Then, he shook his head. “It’s a difficult thing to consider.”

“A part of me does.” He said. “Whatever happened with her, whether she left me behind willingly or lost me or whatever… I know I’d forgive her. I mean,” He glanced at Vergil again. “If I could forgive you of all people.” Vergil’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as Nero continued. “But another part of me… doesn’t want to know.”

“Why?”

An honest question, one important enough to give Nero pause. “If she’s alive… I don‘t know what I’d do. Show up one day with the grandkids? Pretend like everything’s fine? Maybe I could with this bleeding heart of mine and all.” 

“But.”

“What if she’s dead?” Nero said. “What if she’s… gone? How would I feel then? Would I regret never seeking her out? Would I be…” He flinched. “Happy about it? Makes my life… easier I guess.”

“No.” Vergil said. “You’re not that type of person.”

“Then why am I hesitating?” Nero said. “If anyone could track her down, it’d probably be you. But I just…”

“You don’t have to decide now.” Vergil said. “It would take some time regardless of your decision.”

“You’re going to look for her, aren’t you.”

Vergil hesitated. “I don’t know.” He hadn’t forgotten Olivia. At least, not completely. But it had been over thirty years since he had last seen her. Three decades since he’d abandoned her with his child and never come back. The chances of her remembering him were slim. And if she did, what good would finding her do? All he could imagine was her resentment. He’d abandoned her. For all intents and purposes, he’d forgotten her completely. And while it had taken him thirty years, he had moved on. So, there was no doubt in his mind that she had too.

Why bring that pain back into her life now? What was the point of reminding her of what she had lost, especially when he was now the happiest he had ever been? What good would it do to show that kindhearted soul that he not only found a life without her, but that their relationship had been doomed for the start for reasons even he didn’t know yet?

“If I did,” He said. “It would be for you.”

Nero sat up, slower this time. Silence fell between them, but the two maintained eye contact; an actual sign of growth between them. Vergil used to be the one to look away first out of some silent shame he could never quite express. But he was well beyond that now, and showed Nero the same amount of pride and confidence he showed anyone else. Anything less would be disingenuous. “I know if she is alive that I don’t have much time left.” Nero said. “But…” He trailed off and sighed. “If you happen to find something, let me know. But if you don’t… Then we’ll both accept it. Agreed?”

Vergil nodded. “Agreed.” 

“Papa!” A groggy Angelica yelled from upstairs. “Kaiden summoned a feather again.”

Nero rolled his eyes. “And?”

“It’s floating around the room.”

Vergil was up first. “Let me.” 

Nero practically sunk into the couch, but Vergil didn’t miss the teasing smirk on his face. “And you’re worried you won’t be a good grandfather.”

Vergil stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “I never said…”

“Grandpapa!” Angelica yelled. “There’s two of them now!” A gasp. “Three!?”

“I’m coming, Angelica.” Vergil said. His lips twitched into a smile as Nero’s laughter followed him all the way upstairs. 

_ I may have failed you then… but I won’t now. _


End file.
